This present invention relates in general to apparatuses, systems and methods used in the transport, delivery and display of flowers and accompanying messages or greetings between the sender and recipient. Flower containers, such as boxes and vases, have long been used to display flowers in various settings, including indoors and outdoors. When using such containers, transportation typically occurs with flowers packed in cardboard boxes. Delivery occurs after a retailer unpacks the boxes and transfers flowers to a display apparatus such as a vase or display box. While vases typically provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance suitable for the flowers to be received as a gift, they are not suitable for long-distance transportation, meaning that additional labor to unpack flowers and fill the vase is required.
Some types of flowers, due to their structure, require specific styles of containers to best support their requirements and appearance. Further, with vases being commonplace in households and the market in general, it gives cause to grow flowers to a certain height (typically 30 cm-40 cm) in order to be presented in a typical vase. For example, long stem roses or other long stem flowers require a taller container, and the container often needs to be narrow at the top to keep the flowers organized and bunched together. The result is that growers seek to provide long-stem flowers suitable for vases while shorter-stem flowers are considered less valuable or waste. Lastly, while vases can be reused after the shipment of flowers perishes, the options for reuse for any purpose other than displaying flowers are limited or non-existent.
Known flower containers thus suffer from a number of inherent drawbacks. As is noted above, a typical flower vase may be adequate for certain aesthetic qualities, but the shape of a vase does not facilitate, nor provide for, simple and efficient shipment or delivery and provides limited reuse options. Boxes, while sometimes aesthetically pleasing and shaped more conveniently for shipping are not well suited to sustaining flowers due to the requirements for water or soil. To address that need, an individual water supply for each stem is sometimes used but is a wasteful and labor-intensive solution. The long stems of some flowers also make shipping less efficient due to the requirement for longer containers. In addition, shipment from growers to retail or other vendors may often be in bulk with the flowers bundled in a box or in bales that necessitate removal and assembly into an aesthetically-pleasing display by a retailer prior to delivery to an end user.
To further complicate matters, flowers delivered to designated individuals as gifts on special occasions are intended to arrive at their location already arranged aesthetically in a container. For this reason, vases and other open top containers are typically used. But such containers are only suitable for same-day type delivery of flowers and are difficult to pack and transport. The shape and open nature of a vase creates a need for flowers to be “handled with care” which creates a need for special handling which is typically fulfilled by local florists instead of a commercial carrier. The opening in the vase is also such that spillage is likely unless a hydrated foam material is used inside the vase.
More recently, with the rise of the Internet and e-commerce, different delivery models have developed for a variety of goods, including perishable goods. Such models, however, are still less than ideal for flower delivery. Business models from online retailers have arisen where flowers are shipped in boxes through traditional parcel services such as UPS or FedEx. However, these current providers typically transport flowers to a gift recipient packed in corrugated box material, and the flowers and associated vase or container are sold as a kit which requires the customer to unpackage the contents, unwrap the items, and assemble the flowers and container into an arrangement before presenting the arrangement to the intended recipient. This model provides the convenience and cost benefits of e-commerce but requires the “some assembly required” effort by the customer upon receiving the package, and provides a less-than-ideal user experience for the recipient.
Additionally, both traditional, local florist delivery and e-commerce delivery-based flower options often offer limited greeting card choices with few ways to create a truly personalized experience. The text and font of a particular card may be customized, but the typical printed cards are generic and lack the personal and intimate feel of a personalized message.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved shipping, transport and delivery container, method and system that facilitate use of shorter stem flowers, more efficient transportation and delivery with little or no assembly required, an aesthetically pleasing flower display with multiple re-purposing options, and more robust messaging options.